Listening to Hate Filled Sermons

Over at Volokh, Orin Kerr deleted a comment I made, because I insulted (the non-existent intelligence of) commenter jukeboxgrad. Here’s roughly what I said

jukeboxgrad writes:

Anyway, maybe you can tell us what you think the proper behavior is when you hear someone talk about “the wealth of the wicked,” and about “the Israelites, that’s how they work. And that’s how they are, even today.” Let me guess: show your approval by happily accepting a blessing from them

No, I think you should make that person your spiritual mentor for 20 years, get married by him, raise your children to his hate filled sermons, then toss him under the bus when the rest of America finds out about him.

Do you really want to play this game? Because I’ll be happy to trade Rev. Wright quotes with you all day.

But then, no one ever said you were intelligent.

Oh, the horror.

And, to be clear, showing basic politeness for the space of one sermon is, IMHO, entirely different from coming back for more. Sarah Palin simply showed class (Andrew Sullivan and “jukeboxgrad” are entirely lacking in it, so don’t recognize it in others). Barack Obama, OTOH, showed an utter lack of class, taste, and judgment when he spent 20 years with the Reverend Jeremiah “God Damn America” Wright, and his hate-filled, Black Liberation Theology spewing rants sermons.

I’m so glad we’ve established that we can judge you based on what a preacher says while you’re in the pews.